Azerbaijan’s fields such as Shafag-Asiman and Umid-Babek can be used to expand the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), BP Azerbaijan Vice President Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli told Trend.

He said that the SGC can be expanded in two directions.

"The first direction includes Azerbaijan’s gas resources, and not only Shah Deniz, but also other fields, such as Shafag-Asiman, Umid-Babek, fields operated by SOCAR and other fields," he noted. "The second direction includes gas resources of other countries. This question depends on the willingness and interest of these countries."

Aslanbayli added that there are technical capabilities to expand this gas pipeline, further adding that the SGC was originally designed in a way so that its capacity can be doubled.

Aslanbayli also stressed that BP is quite active in the implementation of this project.

The 5th Ministerial Meeting of the SGC Advisory Council was held Feb. 20 at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.

The participants in the event included energy ministers from the Southern Gas Corridor member-states and representatives of a number of organizations, as well as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, acting co-chair of SGC Advisory Council Gunther Oettinger.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor was held in Baku on May 29, 2018, while opening ceremony of TANAP was held on June 12, 2018 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.